It's A Not So Wonderful World
by The Exiled Azrael
Summary: What if Cloud spoke to Aerith before leaving again in KHII? What if Riku followed DiZ's orders in allowing Namine to die? What if Xemnas was actually the Nobody of Terra? You don't know? Well read this collection of AU one shots to find out!
1. Thy Name Is Roxas l Roxascentric

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It's A Not So Wonderful World Series

**Title:** Thy Name is Roxas

**Author:** Ziz

**Plot Summary: **Roxas and Xemnas meeting for the first time.

The sun's bright radiant rays shone down on the unconscious boy who lay in the grass. Hearing birds chirping nearby, the boy began to open his eyes. The pupils of the unknown boy's eyes were the brightest shade of blue which matched the sky.

The boy raised his head and let out a soft groan, "Ugh...my head hurts." He placed his hand right over the spot in his head which caused pain to him while scratching those blond spiky locks of his. "Where the heck...am I?" The boy stood up on his own stretching out his arms in the meanwhile. "I should take a quick look around." He was surrounded by lush, green foliage and looked towards his left, a derelict looking mansion. It peaked the boy's youthful, child-like interest as to what laid inside the mansion although such interest to explore it were dashed by the closed gate that blocked him.

"Where am I to go from here??" He looked down at a puddle of water. A look of shock in his face as he sees what a tall stranger draped in a black cloak looming over him. "What the...." He takes a couple of steps back.

An enigmatic voice spoke, "Perhaps I can be of assistance to you..." A few seconds later, the voice then added as if it was an afterthought. "With a certain set of conditions put into place of course...I may be convinced to provide some aid to you."

"Who are you?" The boy's eyes narrowed and he turned around.

A man in a black cloak was right in front of the gate; his face was unable to be seen. "Stay back," The boy went into a defensive fighting stance. The blond was taken aback at the sight of the sword that had materialized when a bright light shimmered. "Is this a giant key?" As soon as the shining key-shaped sword materialized in his hands, it quickly disappeared from his hands, "It's gone..."

"Hmph," The hooded man's eyes shimmered with utter satisfaction. "It seems that Vexen was correct in his research. You are a lot like him, the Keyblade's Chosen One." The stranger in the black cloak was to say the least intrigued. "You may be only half a person but you have so much potential. You do not have the control of the Keyblade that your true self has."

"What are you talking about?" The blond boy spoke angrily. "I am my own person and nobody can say otherwise!!"  
"You're much like him. So naive and innocent of what he has become," The hooded man laughed and didn't take the blonde boy's threats seriously. "If that is the case what is your true name?" The hooded man asked out of a sudden. "That is...unless you need to look deep down within the memories in your heart to remember it."

He had been taken aback by surprise at the question presented to him by the stranger in the black cloak. "My true name...is...." He did not know what his name. So the blond boy attempted to do what the hooded man dared him to do and search deep down within the confines of his heart for the memory which contained the knowledge of his name. The boy felt nothing there and that shocked him. "I...I can't remember." The blond slumped down to the ground on his knees.

"Stand up." He ordered; the blond boy nodded and grudgingly stood up. The hooded stranger waved his hand around forming a small swirl of darkness which then became the purple-colored silhouette of a spiky haired boy wielding a sword...no a giant key. "You came into existence when your original self sacrificed himself into darkness by extracting his heart from his body. He no longer exists but his legacy lives on through you." The blonde sees the spiky haired boy stab himself with the blade and begin to fall down to the ground. He along with the Keyblade disappeared. "You are all that is left of the Keyblade's Chosen One."

"I am...what's left?" asked Roxas.

"Yes," He offered his hand to Roxas. "My purpose of coming to this world was to seek you out."

"You're telling you came all the way here just to seek me out?" The boy said dumbfounded not knowing what else to say. "But why?"

"I am here to present you an offer that you would have to be a fool to refuse."

"Which is what exactly?"

"I am offering you what you truly desire right now." The hooded man offered a hand and smiled. "There are people a lot like you who are only nonexistent remnants who seek to be whole again just like you. People if you get to know them will become like a surrogate family...a brotherhood of Nobodies who live in a castle which in time will become your home." His orange eyes stared into the blond boy's blue eyes. "Will you please join our brotherhood of the void....Organization XIII?" Knowing that he had his full attention, the hooded man said. "We all seek to become our own Somebodies."

"To become my own Somebody and have people to call my family." He knew that he had nothing going for him in this place and the offer that the hooded man presented was just too good to pass up. The blond boy nodded his head and whispered. "Yes, I will join Organization XIII."

"Wise choice you've made, chosen wielder of the Keyblade." The hooded man grinned victoriously. "Now I shall give you a second chance at life. Now it is time to cast off the memories of your original, inferior self and be born again as your own person." The hooded man waved his hands around allowing the blonde boy to see golden letters floating in front of him.

The boy glanced at the letters and whispered out the name that the letters formed. "Sora."  
The hooded man now began to scramble the letters around in front of the boy and then added the letter X in the middle forming a new name.

"Roxas..." He groaned in pain and places his hands on his head. "My head hurts..."

"Now this time..." The hooded man asked again. "Tell me your name and your choice to my offer."

The blonde boy stared at the man and answered confidently. "My name is Roxas....I AM Roxas."  
"That is excellent to hear." The hooded man grinned. "Roxas, I hereby name you number XIII of our ever-expanding Organization XIII and present you with the title of the Key of Destiny." The man turned around and raised his hand summoning a corridor of darkness. "Another member of the Organization Number VIII will come tomorrow to retrieve you and bring you to us in our stronghold at Castle Oblivion. We shall meet again soon." The hooded man disappeared from Roxas' sight leaving him alone.

Roxas smiled and nodded. "Likewise, I'll see you soon."  
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	2. Nuestra Promesa l Clerith

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It's A Not So Wonderful World

**Title:** Nuestra Promesa

**Author:** Ziz

**Plot Summary:** What if Cloud and Aerith spoke to each other a bit more before his departure in Kingdom Hearts II?

* * *

It was the late afternoon in the castle of Hollow Bastion, former headquarters by which the Seeker of Darkness Ansem and his allies once established themselves. The sun was setting and dusk would soon give way into nightfall, the time by which the Heartless would multiply and strengthen with the lack of light. For a moment, they both stood there in silence, staring at the lovely pallet of colors streaking across the twilight sky.

Ingrid, one of the two bodyguards that were accompanying Aerith for the trip, observed the surroundings and tilted her head at Aerith, "Guess you better get going from here on, miss Gainsborough. Will you be safe?"

Aerith nodded, "You sure you two will be safe here?" She looked around the castle postern. It had only been recently when Sora expelled the darkness of this In-Between world. Despite this, there was always danger afoot. The flower walked to this section of the castle unarmed with the exception of a few magic spells taught to her by Merlin but carried no true weapon since her staff was destroyed nine years ago when her world fell to darkness. "I don't want you to risk yourselves to be attacked by the Heartless."

"Thank you for your concern, miss Gainsborough." Fillmore said confidently, "But we can handle ourselves in case of any Heartless deciding to attack us. We were members of Safety Patrol back in our world before it was destroyed so we're not any pushovers when it comes to offensive measures."

Aerith smiled at the generosity given by the two seventh graders and placed her hand on their shoulders. "Ingrid and Fillmore, thank you for getting me through the castle's upper floors," the brunette woman told them softly. "I assure you that this won't take too much of your time."

"There is no need to apologize, miss Gainsborough for taking up our time," Fillmore assured with a grin and a thumbs up. "It's our duty and responsibility as junior members of the Committee to make sure you as the civilian is well protected from any threats."

"And she did get us off the streets back at Traverse Town and allowed us to live in Merlin's home," Ingrid added in. "Take your time to give a proper good-bye to your friend, miss Gainborough. Take our word for it, we wished we gave the people in our world a proper farewell before they..."

"....were lost to the darkness," Fillmore finished and then looked at Aerith. "It's best that you take your time, miss Gainsborough. We'll wait outside for you."

Aerith nodded mouthing out a 'thank you' to her two protectors and ran towards the inner castle. Minutes passed by until she arrived right outside the Chapel. "There is no one here." A soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked around the Castle Chapel seeing it empty. The icy, cold wind whistled around the slim brunette and Aerith shivered, wrapping her arms around her body to provide some sort of warmth wishing she had her coat with her. "I wanted to say good-bye to him before he left. But I don't see Cloud around."

"You wanted to speak to me, Aerith?" A silhouette of a spiky haired man wielding a giant sword said from the ceiling and flapped his wings as he descended to the chapel floor right behind her.

"Cloud!" She admitted that she relished the sound of his voice, so shy and innocent yet so intoxicating to the slim flower girl. Her green eyes sparkled as she turned her head around to look into Cloud's blue eyes. "Yes, I did want to speak to you before you left."

"Wait a minute," Cloud took a few steps back from Aerith and dropped the Buster Sword onto the ground. "You know about that?"

"So it is true, you are leaving?" Aerith lowered her head and tried to hold back her tears. She did not want to force him to stay if he really was leaving due to Cloud feeling sorry for her. Yet the former flower vendor did not want him to leave after returning back to them just a week ago, "Tell me Cloud."

"What more can I say to you except that I'm leaving you? That I am going on a futile hunt to terminate the darkness within my heart." Cloud knew that deep down that he could not never tell a lie to Aerith, out of all people. "Don't cry and act like I'm the one who wants to leave. I've been away for ten years and I don't want to be seperated from you nor Leon, Yuffie and the rest.." The blond swordsman did not want to leave but yet could not tell her the truth.

"Are you going to, Cloud?" Aerith demanded, "You're leaving to fight Sephiroth again?"

"She doesn't remember what he did to us all.."The ex-SOLDIER responded with a simple nod of the head, unable to come up with the right words. He was intimidated by the inquisitive glare Aerith had in her eyes and unable to look at. She doesn't understand how he feels about the darkness within him and how much of a threat he poses to the worlds. Cloud needed to kill Sephiroth and destroy that darkness. Especially after he killed so many of their friends. "He helped plunge our world to darkness by aiding Maleficent take over the world."

"That's all in the past now! Why do you constantly push yourself to fight him?" Aerith asked, her voice was muffled as she threw her arms around Cloud's waist and dug her head into his muscular chest. "Can't you finally realize that, despite everything you can do, it is pointless to continue fighting againist him. You're already among friends and you should stay here. Ansem and Maleficent are gone thanks to Sora, may he rest in peace and it is up to us rebuild."

"It was because of me that he even exists in the first place." "I am the one who begged the great scientific mind Ansem the Wise and his top Apprentice Xehanort to experiment on my heart and purge that demon Sephiroth out from plaguing my heart in my sleep."

"But it wasn't your fault, Cloud!" Aerith screamed in response, "That guy...Sephiroth was hurting you in your dreams! You had to get help from Ansem the Wise to purge him out of your heart and stop causing you any more pain."

"Yet I brought him loose onto this world and allowed him to cause so much destruction to the Radiant Garden." Seeing Aerith's frown, he sighed heavily, "I know that you are looking out for what's best for me, Aerith and I thank you for it. But this is something that I have to do, I need to defeat Sephiroth."

"Then at least, can you," Aerith placed her hand on top of his and looked deep into his eyes, "promise me that you will return back to us in one piece?" The former flower seller tried her best to hold back her tears and faked a smile.

"From what I hear, everyone else except for Leon and Yuffie are not exactly pleased to see me return to Radiant Garden after a long period of absence. I don't blame them considering that I've been gone for so long."

"If you will not promise for them, can you at least keep your promise for my sake?"

The swordsman lowered his head in defeat and offered a rebuttal, "You know I can never guarantee my safety...especially when Sephiroth is involved."

"Cloud!!" yelled Aerith angrily.

"Okay then, I promise to be safe!"

"Are you sure that you're going to keep your promise?"

The blond wielder of the Buster Sword chuckled a bit and placed his hand over Aerith's shoulder. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't keep my promise to you," The former SOLDIER and flower girl hold each other's hand. "I am always with you and you're always with me. I'll swear on my life that I'll come back to you. I promise!" Cloud said as his wings flapped and his body began to levitate into the sky. "You'll always remain my beacon of light."

Aerith smiled, "I know you will, Cloud" Their grip on each other loosened and they seperated. Within a few seconds, Cloud could barely be seen as he flew to the horizon until he disappeared into a corridor of darkness, "Bye Cloud.."

"Did you say good-bye to your friend, miss Gainsborough?"

Aerith turned around and saw that it was Ingrid and Fillmore right behind her. The slim brunette tried to cover up her sadness and faked a smile, "I did say good-bye to tell him. I wanted him to stay and help us re-build our home but he told me that he needed to do something important to him."

"But I decided to be a good friend and support him in his decesion of leaving to fight the darkness within him. I somehow have the feeling that he'll return to us all someday." Noticing that that nightfall would begin soon, Aerith said to the two former Safety Patrol officers, "Let's head back to Merlin's home where Leon and the others are. We're late to dinner and I'm sure everyone is worried for us."

"Very well then, let's go," said Fillmore as he exited the castle chapel with Ingrid soon following him.

The flower vendor placed her hand over her heart as she had one final look at the spot where Cloud was previously. "I'll always think of you in the time of your absence and once you return from vanquishing that darkness, you can be showered by our light."

Aerith soon returned to Merlin's new home. The usual discussion in the dinner table concerning the reconstruction of the city gave away to everone listening to Fillmore and Ingrid talk about the friends they had in their own world and the cases they solved when they were members of Safety Patrol. She also prayed that the worlds would soon be at peace despite the death of the Keyblade's Chosen One and that the two seventh graders would have the chance to see if their original home and friends were safe and sound.

As naive as she sounded despite the gruesome reality of life, Aerith believed that everyone, after all of this, earned their chance at happiness.

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	3. The Bane of Forgotten Memories l SoKai

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It's A Not So Wonderful World

**Title: **The Bane of Forgotten Memories

**Author: **Ziz

**Plot Summary: **What if Sora laid dying in front of Kairi? Order of the Roses AU Spoilers.

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Sora and Riku stood on opposites sides of the hallway.

"I want to help you and Kairi along with the Restoration Society defeat Marluxia!"

No response.

"Kairi, you and me can finally be happy again."

With those words, Riku's eyes changed from their normal aquamarine color and became a bright shimmering yellow, the color long associated with that of the darkness. The silver haired teen summoned out his signature weapon the Way to Dawn and charged quickly towards him to slay him. The morality of the seemingly traitorous act was irrevelant to him in his point of view. Riku was not willing to become the shadow...the third wheel of the trio of teens once again.

Sora was not necessary anymore to exist as his purpose would be useless.

Kairi only needed Riku and that's how he believed it should remain.

* * *

Looking down at the floor right in front of the door that led to the Altar of Naught, Kairi immediately recognized the body that was lying there.

**"SORA!"**

Lifeless.

Devoid of life.

Dead.

Deceased.

None of these words could describe how Sora appeared.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Kairi yelled angrily shaking Sora's body agressively demanding an answer from the boy. He offered no sort of response to the redhead and just laid there. Those blue eyes of his that always seemed to bring fun and joy to what would had been an otherwise boring experience were closed showing no sort of life in the boy. His bright eyes were lifeless and dull, his normally cheerful voice now imprisoned with fear. It pained Kairi's heart so much after not being able to see Sora for so long that she had to see him dying in front of her. She only wondered who would have the audacity to do this to him. "Please give me an answer...anything!"

"Kairi?" His eyes opened slowly to see the face of Kairi above him. "Is that you, Kairi?" asked the spiky haired boy weakly again.

She pressed Sora's head againist her chest into a tight embrace, "Yes Sora...I'm here for you no matter what."

"Where am I?" asked Sora weakly.

"You're in Castle Oblivion," responded Kairi.

The Keybearer sighed heavily and frowned, "Then it looks like that all of this Castle Oblivion nonsense will end where it began. It is the end for me, isn't it?"

"Don't say such things like that!" Kairi stated to Sora as she was about to get her Restoration Society phone from her pocket. "I can get one of the doctors in our team to help you out with your injuries." She took it out and began to dial the numbers when Sora's hand stopped her.

"You know?" Sora coughed out a bit of blood that was in his mouth, "When my memories of what I did under Marluxia's control flooded my heart when I awakened, I was really scared of what I had become. I thought I became a monstrosity devoid of any memories on how to feel like a normal person." The memories of Castle Oblivion...losing to Marluxia and having his hollow heart be enslaved by the Thirteenth Order of the Roses was becoming clear to him. "I can't blame myself for doing things that I had no control over. I was like a mindless puppet...a slave for those guys that you called the Nobodies and could not do anything unless the Superior wanted me to do it. Everything seemed hopeless for me until you came and restored my body with your light."

Kairi tightened her embrace of Sora to the point of smothering him.

_" No! Don't die, Sora!"_

She did not want to let him go towards the tempting light.

_"I don't want you to go away."_

It was not his time she felt, he was just fifteen years old.

Sora placed his hand near Kairi's cheek and smiled at the redhead, "I may not remember everything yet right now although I know of the things you and the Restoration Society's been doing to save the worlds from falling into darkness." He sighed and placed his hand over Kairi's hand, "I'm impressed with you, y'know that? You've been fighting the Nobodies mostly on your own, haven't you? It doesn't matter for me in the end...I guess it is my time to go."

"Sora...please don't go!" Kairi yelled at him, her eyes beginning to water up with tears. "It's not the end for you! We can still save you!"

"Don't you die on me Sora!!" Kairi yelled angrily as she began shaking him trying to keep the spiky chocolate haired boy alive. "The Restoration Society is nearby and they can save you from dying. All you have to do is to please have a little hope and hang on! Curaga!" The redheaded wielder of the Mani-Katti commanded as she tried to use her white magic healing abilties in an attempt to save Sora's life. She could not lose hope now, at least not yet. After all, Sora didn't lose hope searching for her and Riku when their world of the Destiny Islands was thrown into darkness by the Heartless.

The spiky haired Keybearer chuckled to himself, "It is sort of funny to me. Despite remembering everything that had happened in Castle Oblivion, I can't blame Naminé for my fate here no matter what she had done to bring here laying down on the floor bleeding to death. I can never blame here for what she's done."

"..."

"So it is alright to her that I should let myself go into the light?" Sora asked Kairi seemingly ignoring what she had said. Tears were forming in his blue eyes. "What do you think Namine is thinking right now? Will she be happy if we reunited together in Heaven?"

Kairi couldn't answer the question but nodded in agreement.

She did not know who this Naminé was but she seemed to make him very happy.

Sora being happy made her happy.

And that is all that mattered to her.

"That no matter how many times that I am reborn either as Ventus or my old self, I'll always remember to care for you and her in my heart. Consider it to be a promise that will never be broken, I swear upon my own life."

Kairi couldn't utter a response but merely continued to listen to Sora's last words.

He deserved it after all the mental and physical trauma he's been through in the past year.

"Now I must go to the light and see Nami again...I...I...need to do this. But enough of me...speaking, go defeat Marluxia and save our worlds." With those final words from the former Keybearer, his eyes closed. Sora's hand that gripped tightly with Kairi's loosened. It fell with a loud thud as the dead hand hit the pool of blood surrounding the now deceased Keybearer.

Kairi screamed loudly into the night holding onto the corpse of Sora's body.

The Keybearer of Light Irino Sora became nothing more.

Kairi could only move on and do what she came here to do...defeat Marluxia.

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	4. Good Riddance to Thee l Rikunortcentric

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La Compilation des Histoires de Reino Corazones

**Title:** Good Riddance to Thee

**Author:** Ziz

**Beta Reader:**

**Plot Summary: **What if Lexaeus accidentally killed Riku and summoned out an uninvited guest to come crash the Organization victoy?  
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One named Lexaeus, the Silent Hero...

Another by the name of Riku...

The two powerful warriors shot angry glares at one another.

Both of them stood on opposite sides of a white room stained scarlet by their blood shed by the weapons they had wielded. Both Lexaeus and Riku were extremely tired and were on the floor, trying to recover their stamina to eliminate the other. Riku, being the younger combatant of the two warriors, could recover at a much quicker rate than his older opponent.

Riku smirked, "Is that all you got to show?" Despite a great amount of pain in his chest where there was a large, bloody gash staining his shirt, he stood up. His eyes were filled with pure hatred for his opponent who laid there panting, attempting to recover his breath.

Obviously, the battle had taken more of a toll out of the bulky Nobody Lexaeus, who barely had a grip on his tomahawk. The Silent Hero lowered his head staring down on the floor and closed his eyes. _"That boy thinks he can mock me and get away with it?"_

Riku smiles; he could tell the amount of damage he had inflicted on the Nobody on the bloody gashes that were all over the stained black Organization cloak that his opponent wore.

He drew out the Soul Eater once more, his other began to glow, and began to walk towards him. In order to defeat the remnant of what darkness remained within him and reunite with his best friend Sora, Lexaeus had to be terminated now.

"You're **finished**!!!" Riku jumped up in the air, with his Soul Eater shimmering a bright purple, ready to give the final strike at the severly weakened Organization member.

"This is where your grave shall be, **demon** of the darkness," Lexaeus grabbed the blood-stained tomahawk that laid on the floor and screamed angrily at the silver haired teen, **"Don't mock me!"** The Silent Hero slammed Riku right in the chest.

Riku was thrown right into the ceiling causing a loud, painful scream to erupt from the fifteen year old.

Lexaeus took a few steps forward to take a closer look. No sign of movement, or life, for that matter, from the silver haired boy. "I sense no hint of life coming from the boy's body." He looked down and stared at the seemingly lifeless body of the silver haired teenager whom he had slain just now. "Yet it confuses me as to why the body of the child had not already dissipated into the darkness even though."

_"I wonder now what to do with you considering that you helped me purge out Riku's heart at last allowing me to take his body as my own. Yet I can not allow you to harm __**my**__ new body. Continue to advance any further and I won't hesitate killing you."_

Riku's body began to to emit a dark, purple aura.

"This is enough of an anomaly as is." Lexaeus walked back towards the glowing corpse with his tomahawk clenched tightly in his right hand ready to slay him, "Say good-bye to all that you know and prepare to be cast off into the Realm of Darkness from where we found you."

_"You chose your path, Aeleus. Now you shall suffer the consequences of the choice you made..."_

"Mmmhh??" he muttered with curiosity.

Riku rested on his knees and his pupils were now an orange-yellow color. He quickly disappeared from the Silent Hero's sight. Not even a second later, Lexaeus felt a stinging pain in his waist, his eyes widened with the feeling of pain. The giant tomahawk that he wielded fell to the floor and faded away. He saw through the reflection given off by his Soul Eater the blood that had been shed all over the floor.

Lexeaus' body began to emit the aura of darkness that signified the beginning the process of fading away. "How could you still be alive?" Lexeaus coughed out; he felt the blade of the Soul Eater go deeper into his chest. "I thought that the Keyblade's Chosen One had killed you and the Heartless, Xehanort."

Rikunort shot a glare at him, "My name is Ansem now and don't you forget that, Nobody. The name that our former Master bestowed onto me is no of importance to me." The possessed silver haired Seeker of Darkness dredged his sword the Soul Eater deeper into Lexaeus's abdomen. "I should thank you for terminating the existence of the boy but you turned againist me and turned me over to Ansem the Wise ten years ago. I can not allow the Nobody of a traitor to continue existing."

"I should had known from the start that you would cause the fall of our world to the darkness." Lexaeus shouted out angrily. "Zexion, I am sorry for ever holding doubts againist you back then." He soon faded away completely to the darkness.

"Now that Riku and Lexaeus are disposed of, I can concentrate on eliminating the Keyblade Master for foiling my plans to use the darkness of Kingdom Hearts," Rikunort said as he opened a corridor of darkness. "Speaking of the devil, I can smell the Keyblade Master nearby." He formed a dark swirl and began immersing his body into it. "Perhaps, I shall give him a warm welcome."  
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End file.
